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Reeve didn’t know why he had suddenly asked to be sent on a mission. He truly preferred to remain here, but then perhaps that was why he had to go. He had to learn for himself if he had simply grown accustomed to Tara. That she had been right there in front of him day and night, so what had he expected? Not to have noticed her? Or grow attached to her?
“A mission,” he begged once more, wanting his chaotic thoughts gone and wanting his sane self back.
“There’s a message that needs to be delivered,” Carmag said. “It should take no more than two or three days.”
“I’ll do it,” Reeve said.
“Are you sure?” Carmag asked. “It isn’t of grave importance.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll go.”
“Let him go,” Mara said. “Maybe he’ll learn something while he’s gone.”
“I’ll leave at sunrise,” Reeve said, feeling a jolt to his stomach. He had to do this, had to go away if only for a few days. Then why did he suddenly feel like he was deserting Tara?
Tara woke, and it wasn’t until she peeked outside and saw the sunrise on the horizon that she realized she had slept the night away, her ankle wasn’t swollen, and she was starving. She quickly gathered snow in a bucket and dumped it in the cauldron hanging in the fireplace to heat, after adding another log.
While the water heated, she put her belongings that Reeve had brought to her the night before, in the chest, though she kept her bone combs. She worked the tangles from her hair, and, with practiced hands, she pinned her ringlets to rest near the top of her head, letting a few fall down the front and back.
She washed her face with the warm water and then slipped on her boots with ease. She grabbed her fur-lined cloak from the peg by the door and walked to the keep.
Tara felt refreshed and looked forward to the day. She hadn’t looked forward to a day in such a long time. She planned on going to the keep kitchen and see if the cook would allow her to bake bread. Reeve had liked her black bread, and she wanted to bake him some.
She spotted Reeve before he did her and she stopped, seeing that he was getting ready to mount his horse. Her breath caught, not because he was the handsomest man she had ever seen but because for a moment she believed he belonged to her.
An insane thought and completely improper,she silently warned herself.
He saw her and stilled, and so she approached.
“You are going somewhere?” she asked apprehensively.
“A mission I must see to.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“Three days at the most,” he said.
Her hearted thudded in her chest, and words spilled quickly from her lips. “I will miss you.”
Her heart pounded more wildly when he did not respond and then he reached out, his arm going around her waist to lift and swing her up against him. His lips came down on hers, and he kissed her with such passion that she wanted to cry with joy.
Her arms slipped around his neck, and she eagerly responded, letting her own desire take flight. And it flew, soared, and reached the heavens. When finally it returned to earth, though with great reluctance on both their parts, their cheeks came to rest against each other.
Not wanting to, but knowing it was necessary, Tara finally moved away. “Come home safe.”
“Stay safe,” he said.
“How can I not? I am in the bosom of your family.”
He smiled. “I will see you soon.”
“Promise?” Tara asked, on the verge of tears though fighting them.
Reeve cupped the back of her neck with his hand and stared into her eyes. “I give you my word. I will always return to you.”
Please. Please let it be so,she pleaded.
They kissed again, though briefly, and he mounted his horse and rode off.
